Welcome Back To Reefside
by poeticrangergirl
Summary: It's been 10 years since the 4 teens of the dino team have graduated & left Reefside.Now a tragic loss will bring them all back.What they don't know is that there's a new evil rising.Will they be able to face it?Chapters 1 & 2 have been edited & reposted.
1. Read Immediately

_A/N: I do not claim any publicly recognizable characters, ideas, or aspects of this story. They are the property of their respective owners. I do, however claim any original characters, ideas, and aspects of this story. Please read and review, I would love some feedback to know if this story is worth continuing. This is a re-write of the original. I hope it is better formatted and more likeable. _

**New York City, New York - June 5, 2014 **

An apartment in a middle-class neighborhood, a big-brother figure and his girlfriend for roommates, and a room dedicated to nothing but music. It was the closest it seemed she would get to living the life. She may not have broken into the music business, but Kira had found the next best thing. Writing lyrics, or anything else for that matter, was her passion. She wrote for a local paper, and was also in the process of getting her first book published. The publishing company had loved her idea of breaking it up into sections started by lyrics. The money may not have been enough for her life to be glamorous, but she lived comfortably, well as comfortable as middle-class could be in New York anyhow.

She sat her guitar to the side and picked up her old acoustic, she hadn't really played it much since high school, and the wear of the years was beginning to show. _The years. _She thought, could it have really been that long? She could hardly believe that she had been out of high school for ten years, and out of college for five and a half. Life was a blur now, and it only seemed to be moving by even more quickly. Getting to her feet, she placed the guitar back on its stand, and headed out of the room, and through the hall to the front room. She let herself fall back onto the couch and she reached for the remote on the end table. She grabbed it on the second try. She turned the television on and put it on her favorite music video channel.

She then tossed the remote over at the love seat and hit her roommate in the chest. He woke up and looked around, when he saw her he tossed a pillow at her and slowly got to his feet. "How late am I going to be today?" He asked as he was wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"Only a minute or so if you hurry up, maybe your job wont even be threatened this time" Kira replied. She kept a serious face as she had said it, but couldn't help but break out in a grin. She knew Aiden's boss wouldn't fire him, there weren't exactly that many qualified engineers who would deal with his job, even with the decent salary and job security that Aiden had. At least she never had to worry about him getting his half of the rent in. Kira glanced up to see Aiden pulling an old t-shirt over his head.

"You need the car, or do you mind if I take it, I don't feel like waiting out a cab?" He questioned.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Take it, I don't mind taking a cab if I need to go anywhere" She replied, and then added "So when is Rory getting off?" Kira needed to go shopping some time, but she always made sure that Rory was with her, so that one trip would supply what everyone would need.

"4:30 or 5:00 I think" He replied as he walked out the door. Kira nodded slightly and then rested her head back on the couch arm. She had time. Suddenly a pile of letters slammed into her lap.

"Mail call!" Aiden yelled before leaving once more. Kira could hear him laughing and if he hadn't have already closed the door she probably would have chucked something at his head. He could be such a pain in the ass sometimes. She didn't waste her time to see what everything was, she just sorted them by name, got to her feet, and tossed them on the kitchen counter.

While she was up she grabbed the phone and hit speed dial number 3, her favorite pizza place. She was not in the mood to cook, and she knew that Rory would be hungry when she got in, so she ordered two small pizzas, their favorites. Once the order was in she tossed the phone to the side and hopped up on the counter. She leaned against the cabinets and closed her eyes. She hummed softly for a while. The next thing she knew she felt someone shaking her. She looked up to see Aurora, her other roommate.

"How in the hell could you fall asleep up there, it can't be comfortable?" Rory questioned as Kira stretched and wiped the sleep from her eyes.

"I have no clue, did you catch the pizza guy?" Kira replied as she hopped down from the counter, nearly falling flat on her face in the process.

"Yeah, he was about to leave when I got here" Rory said as she tossed an envelope to Kira. "You might want to open that, it looks important" Rory said. Since she hadn't caught the letter, Kira bent over to grab it from the floor.

"Probably a bill" Kira said and was about to lay it back down until the address of the sender caught her eye.

It was from Reefside. She looked at the front of the envelope more closely and saw that it was from her former teacher, Tommy Oliver. It also had READ IMMEDIATELY written in bold across the front. She went ramrod straight immediately. Could it be something to do with a ranger issue? Would she have to go back to yellow spandex yet again? She tore it open, and as she read the tear stained letter and attached newspaper clipping, she began to shake.

Everything fell from her hands to the floor and she slid slowly down to the floor, resting her head back on the bottom of the counter. _No, this can't be, it can't be._ She thought as tears began to stream down her face. Rory was beside her now, picking up the letter and the rest of the contents of the envelope.

"Kira, what's wr-" She began, until her eyes fell to the clipping in her hand. "Kira I'm so sorry" She said and hugged the still shaking Kira, trying to console her.

**Los Angeles, California - June 5, 2014**

Soccer balls flying through the air, the smell of the freshly cut grass on the field, and a large group of kids having the time of their lives. A smile was fixed on Conner's face as he watched the drills.

"Remember, use the side of your foot Tristan" He called to a teen running nearby.

"Alright Coach McKnight!" The boy called. Conner shook his head slightly.

No matter how long that he had been coaching the teams at the soccer camp, he still hadn't gotten used to being referred to as coach. It didn't bother him though, it actually made him feel important. Even more importantly, he was making a difference in these kids' lives. That was what really mattered.

"Hey McKnight, how are they looking?" Another coach, now approaching him, called.

"Pretty good, they've really improved since last year. With plenty of practice, they should have the tournament in the bag this year." Conner replied as he reached out to shake the man's hand.

It was Jonathan Tyler, the Senior Counselor and Head Coach for the camp. Conner had a great deal of respect for the man. They spoke for a while longer, and then John was off to run drills with the younger kids. The day seemed to fly by, and he could hardly believe it was actually four in the afternoon, until he glanced down at his watch. He blew his whistle and watched as the players stopped and crowded around him.

"That's good for the day guys, head to the showers, and then go to the front of the camp to be picked up, get a good night's rest and I'll see you tomorrow." He told them, and then started towards the main building when the teens departed.

"Coach!" He heard from over his shoulder. He saw a short, sandy-haired boy that looked early in his teens running to catch up with him.

"Yeah Drake?" Conner asked.

"Are there going to be any extra practices this week?" The boy asked. Conner thought for a moment.

"No, but there will be next week" He said and turned back around once Drake had walked off.

It didn't take him long to jog to the building and make it in time to grab his clothes out of his locker, shower and change, then head out before the janitor showed up. He was, as usual, the second-to-last to leave. He hopped into his car and punched the gas once he was out on the main road. He was careful to stay just inside the speed limit. He didn't feel like dealing with a speeding ticket at the time. It was a bit of a ride from work to home, but it was worth it. He pulled into the driveway, and parked the red convertible in the garage. Once he was in the house he heard a voice calling for him.

"You finally here?" She asked. Conner smiled and walked into the kitchen, wrapping Krista in his arms and giving her a kiss. Now, he thought that it had been exactly three and a half years since he had really been to Reefside. That was when his wedding had been, and it had been the last time he had really gotten together with his former teammates. _My wedding._ He thought, it was hard to believe that out of them all that he was the first to 'settle down'. He enjoyed it though, Krista was really the only person he could ever dream of being with. He could hardly remember now how different that they had been when they were in high school.

"Earth to Conner, your food is going to burn if you don't let me go" She said in a half-serious, half-mocking voice.

He smiled softly and shot her an apologetic look as he let her out of his hug. He crossed the room and sat down at the table. He picked up the newspaper, and sifted through it until he found what he was looking for. The sports section. He looked over the scores of the recent games, and read a couple of the articles that caught his eye.

"Hey, you know the drill, get over here and get your plate, I'll cook for you, but I'm not going to let you get lazy by fixing your plate too." Krista called, smiling and giggling slightly as she sat at the chair next to his with her own plate. He grinned over at her and made his way over to the food. He fixed his plate and was soon at Krista's side once again.

"Anything interesting happen today?" He asked as he brought the first bite of his steak up to his mouth. He chewed as she replied.

"Not really, an intern got sacked." He nodded while he ate, and he spied a stack of mail on the corner of the table.

"That today's?" He asked, pointing over at it. She nodded and he reached for it. He casually glanced over it, until one envelope in particular caught his eye. It was addressed to him, and it was from Tommy. What really drew his attention were the bolded words READ IMMEDIATELY on the front. He opened it quickly, and earned a paper cut from his efforts. He stopped the bleeding, and then read the letter, that was obviously tear stained, and the accompanying news clipping. He swallowed hard and his hands began to shake, he tried to steady them, but they wouldn't stop. He couldn't, and didn't want to, believe what he was reading.

"Conner?" Krista called, as she took his hand, steadying it. He couldn't speak, so he passed her the newspaper clipping. She gasped and got up, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head against his chest.

"How could this, why did this?" She was at a loss for words. Conner pulled her closer to him and held her tight, trying futilely to stop the tears threatening to pour from his eyes.

**Chicago, Illinois - June 5, 2014**

The room was dark, but the illumination from the monitors made Ethan's desk visible. His fingers were like lightning flying across the keyboard. Hacking professionally, or at least that's how he thought of it. In his teen years he would never believe that he would find himself working for the FBI. However, before his senior year he would never have believed that he would have had a part in saving the world either. Sometimes life surprises you. He knew this well, and enjoyed every minute of it.

"Got it!" He announced triumphantly as he finally made it past the last set of codes to break to gain access to where the government needed it. This outburst caught the attention of an agent who had been shuffling through papers a few minutes earlier.

"Already?" Was all the agent had to say as he came up and perched himself to the side, just close enough to view the monitor.

"It wasn't that tough to crack, that case last month, now that was hard." Ethan commented as he maneuvered through the files that he had now gained access to.

"So what was it that you needed?" He asked, they hadn't given him so much as a reason to gain entry to the protected files, and he was curious.

"If you can just send copies of everything to Quantico, and to me, I'll let you know when we're sure." Was all he got in reply. This was nothing new. The agents didn't tend to divulge much about cases with the 'techies'. He just nodded, sent the copies, and saved one to the drive, as usual.

He then glanced at the time in the corner of the screen, and began to shut the computer down. He picked his own personal laptop up from the other end of the desk, and packed it into its case. It wasn't much longer before he was headed down the halls, and then out the door. He climbed into his car, tossing his things into the passenger's seat, and headed towards his home. Well, his apartment anyways. It wasn't much of a drive, living close to work was convenient for him. Once he had pulled into his regular spot, he was in the front room of his apartment within minutes.

The only thing that he had bothered to bring in, was of course his laptop. He never left it in the car, he had learned his lesson soon after moving to Chicago. That's when his last laptop was stolen. He glanced over at the answering machine to see it flashing. He had expected this. It was probably Mia. She usually left a message waiting for him. They had been dating for about a year and a half now, and things were going pretty good. She was smart, beautiful, and thought the world of him. How much luckier could he get? He punched the play button, and listened. He had been right.

"Ethan, I'll be back in town tonight, call me when you get this, and we can meet up somewhere to grab a bite to eat." She had said. Picking up the phone, he pushed the speed dial with her number, and hit call. She picked up on the second ring.

"Hey Mia, where to?" He asked. He wasn't very picky when it came to food, and what she picked was generally good with him.

"Hmm... how about pizza, I've been stuck at fancy dinners all week, I just want something simple" She replied. They spoke a few minutes longer, and then he was changing. He threw on clean clothes, and was out the door once again. He grabbed the mail out of his box, tossed it in the front seat of his car, and then he was off.

They met at their favorite pizza place, and ordered a medium pizza to split. On her half was pepperoni with extra cheese, and on his was the works, nearly everything but anchovies and pineapples.

"What's that?" Mia asked, pointing to a letter on the top of the stack of mail that he had brought in with him. He had been waiting for a letter from his mother, and wondered if that's what had caught Mia's attention. As he glanced down, his attention was caught by the bolded words, READ IMMEDIATELY. A look up at the sender's address told him that it was from his former teacher and teammate, Tommy Oliver. He opened carefully, holding it close to him in case it had any mention of the rangers.

He read the tear-soaked letter, and the accompanying news clipping. His jaw dropped, and his stomach tightened. He was no longer hungry. _No, it can't, I can't believe, I wont_ He thought, unable to form a coherent thought, much less speak. He was unaware of the tears now running down his cheeks, but Mia wasn't. She quickly moved from the seat across from him to the one beside him. She didn't overwhelm him with questions, or force herself closer. She just took his hand and let him lean over on her. He was in a state of shock, and he wished more than anything that what he had just read could be a lie.

**Miami, Florida – June 5, 2014**

The pencil was scratching against the pad quickly. He was intent on finishing the sketch, and there wasn't much more to go. As he came down with the last stroke, he stared down at his newest piece. A happy-go-lucky face stared up at him. Trent may not have been putting his things in galleries, but he was doing pretty well for himself.

His latest project had been in the works for the last few years. His agent had found some of his drawings of the dino rangers, and loved them. That worked its way into his latest project, a comic series. In this series, he told an altered version of the goings on in Reefside. Of course he started out after the rangers had gotten their powers, and changed many personal aspects of himself and his former teammates. Their identities were still secret, and he would keep it that way. However, when it got to the big picture, he used mostly the truth.

The actual events that had taken place in his senior year were far more interesting than anything that he could ever come up with. To say his newest venture was a hit would be an understatement. He was even getting offers to turn his comic into a cartoon series, where he would be doing much of the animation of course. This offer had truly peaked his interest, and he was close to accepting it. Sighing he put the pencil down, and got to his feet. He opened and closed his hand trying to work out the cramp that he had finally noticed. Those were nothing new. If he spent long enough drawing, his hand would cramp. It was uncomfortable, but not entirely intolerable.

Walking through the short hall and into the kitchen, he made a beeline for the refrigerator. He grabbed something to drink out of the door, popped the tab on the soda, and sipped at the cool liquid. He had lost track of time while he was drawing, and it was later than he thought it was. A knock on his door caught his attention and he walked from the kitchen to the door, and opened it. On his step was his agent. He was grinning, and had a briefcase in his hand. Trent rolled his eyes and stepped out of the way to let the man in.

"So, what's new today Mark?" He asked as he headed towards the living room. He took a seat on the couch and Mark sat in the recliner.

"We're close to signing that deal, it shouldn't be long before you can get cracking on some animation" The short man said excitedly. He looked as if would spring from the chair and dance at any moment. Trent was unable to stifle the chuckle that escaped him.

"What?" Mark inquired, Trent just shook his head.

"So when do I have to have the new issue finished?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Within the next two weeks." Mark replied. He nodded and picked up the remote. He turned the television on, but muted it.

"Are you close to being finished?" Mark asked.

"Near half way" Trent commented. Then Mark's cell phone went off. Trent directed his attention to the still muted TV while Mark answered it. The sound of Mark clearing his throat brought Trent's attention away from the movie that was playing silently and back to their conversation.

"Well, I've gotta run, another meeting coming up." Mark announced. They said their goodbyes, and Mark left. Trent walked back to the couch and sat down, this time turning the TV volume on. One of his favorite movies, Major Payne, was on.

He wasn't a military buff, but the movie was hilarious. Damon Mayans was always a riot. His own phone soon went off, and he answered it on the fourth ring, not bothering to check the Caller ID.

"Hello?" He said. Brief silence on the other end was followed by a familiar voice.

"Hey man, where are you?" It was Brian, a friend of his that worked on the comic with him.

"Home, I just finished a new sketch for the next issue. What do you mean where am I, was I supposed to be somewhere?" Trent replied. He heard an impatient sigh on the other end, and then Brian continued.

"Not exactly, but I figured you were gonna come to the, never mind, I got to go, if you can, call me later." Trent shook his head and said goodbye before hanging up. He glanced over at the clock, and decided to go check the mail. He was expecting a new edition of his own favorite comic in today. He got to his feet and headed out the front door. He didn't find the comic in the mailbox. However, something else did catch his eye.

He returned in to the house, and laid all of the mail except for a single letter on the coffee table. On the front of it, in clear bolded letters, were the words READ IMMEDIATELY. It was from Tommy. Trent knew that it must be something important, so he opened it quickly. He first scanned the tear-dampened letter, and then the newspaper clipping.

"No" The sound was barely audible as his throat nearly closed up. He closed his eyes, hoping to be imagining things, and then opened them once more. There would be no such luck. It was still there in black and white, and he couldn't help but dissolve into tears that he had tried so hard to hold back.

* * *

**Reefside Chronicle**

_**A Shock For Reefside: The loss of a Valued Member of Our Community**_

Thirty-nine year old local business owner Hayley Johnston found dead in her home. Circumstances still under investigation.

Johnston, owner of the popular teen hangout _Hayley's CyberSpace _was found face down in a small pool of blood on her kitchen

table yesterday. The discovery was made by a close friend of Ms. Johnston s, Thomas Oliver, when he went to check on her after

no answer from her to his calls. Police are still deep in investigation of this horrible death, and updates will be made once any new evidence

is discovered. Johnston was a kind, caring, and brilliant individual. She has been noted for doing projects for NASA, our government,

and much more. It is indeed a great loss for her loved ones and our community. Funeral arrangements are still to be made.

**Reefside, California – June 5, 2014**

Tommy was still in a surreal state. He stared at the paper for what seemed like the millionth time. The cops had finally allowed him to go home. She was gone, he just couldn't believe that she was gone. Hayley had been the closest thing to a sister that he had ever had. He could talk to her about nearly anything, and she never judged him. When he saw her body lying there the day before, he nearly passed out. He tried everything he could to bring her back, though according to the coroner she had been dead for hours before his arrival.

He didn't want to believe it. It took every fiber of his being the night before to write the letters to his former teammates and send them off on priority next-day shipping. He knew that every letter was stained with the tears that seemed like they had no end. He was sure that if he wasn't so close to dehydration at the moment, he would still be crying. She was his best friend. He had become even closer to her than he had been with Jason.

The thought of her no longer existing tore him apart. He half-expected to see her barge in and lecture him about never locking his door at any moment, though deep down he knew that that would never happen again. He sat there for a while before getting up to get a bottle of water. Once he had made his way back to his seat, he just stared out the window. That's when his phone began to ring. He opened it, and forced himself to talk. It looked like the team had started getting the letters.


	2. Why Us?

_A/N: I do not claim any publicly recognizable characters, ideas, or aspects of this story. They are the property of their respective owners. I do, however claim any original characters, ideas, and aspects of this story. Thanks for all of the reviews, I appreciate the feedback. This chapter is quite a bit shorter, but I will make the later chapters longer. Let me know what you think. This is a re-write of the original chapter._

Life is one surprise after another. You can never know exactly what will happen, or when it will happen. The loss of someone close to you is a devastating blow. In some ways, it seems that the world throws in tragedies such as this, just to prove that you have control over nothing at all. What is destined to happen will, one way or another. However, finding out that another human being is the cause of your loss, and that if they had not made up their mind to commit a terrible act, those you love would still be around, that is perhaps worse than most other fates.

Tommy didn't want to believe his ears. It was two days after he had discovered Hayley's body, and now the police were standing at his front door, informing him that Hayley's death was no accident, and that it wasn't natural. Someone had murdered her, in cold blood.

Cruelty was not a new concept for Tommy. Over his years as a ranger, he had seen the horrors that he would never have believed to be possible before his ranger days. He was used to hurt and pain, but this was something that he had not expected. With his time as a ranger finally over, he thought that his days of constantly worrying about the well-being of those close to him were over.

Apparently he was wrong, and now Hayley was gone. He stood there for a few moments, unable to move. It was as if the wind had just been knocked out of him. He must have looked as if he would fall, because the officers put their hands on his shoulders to brace him.

"I'm alright" He managed to say in a barely audible tone. He turned to see the horror struck faces of his former teammates. The four of them had made there way in the day before.

"W-why?" He heard Kira's songbird voice squeak out. He shook his head, he didn't know what to say. He hated that the four of them had to endure something like this. He had hoped that they would never have to see such horrors again after they retired from the spandex. He walked straight into the living room and slid into a seat on the couch. He heard Conner and Ethan talking to the cops at the front door. Trent had walked behind him and was now seated in an armchair to his left.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Kira walk into the hall, and lean against the wall opposite the living room's entrance. She lost her footing, and with a short fall, she was seated on the floor. Her face was buried in her hands, and she was shaking. He got to his feet and walked over to her. He took a seat beside her, and put an arm on her shoulder. Trent followed him suit and sat on her other side. Her head leaned on his shoulder, and Tommy could feel his shirt dampening from her tears. He looked up to meet Trent's gaze.

"You alright?" Trent asked in a husky voice. He wasn't crying, but it was easy to tell that he was struggling not to. All Tommy could do was shrug, he didn't really seem to know the answer to that question anymore.

"Do you know who in the hell did it?!" Conner could hear himself shouting at the cop closest to him. He didn't mean to yell, but he couldn't manage to get any other sound to escape his lips.

"No, not at this time" Both of the officers replied at once. They finally excused themselves and left. Conner and Ethan met each others gaze. Ethan was close to losing it, Conner could tell. He had known Hayley longer than all of them except for Tommy. Ethan dropped contact with Conner's eyes when the tears took over. Conner looked away and out to the woods. He looked back towards where Ethan was long enough to watch him walk in. Conner followed suit in a few moments.

Kira, Trent, and Tommy were still on the floor. Everyone was jolted out a semi-catatonic state when a loud crack sounded through the room. They all looked up to see Ethan punch the wall.

"Who in the world is that damned low?! Who would do this, and why don't those damned cops even know anything yet?!" He erupted.

Kira got to her feet slowly and walked over to Ethan, enveloping him in a hug and allowing him to cry on her shoulder. "They'll find the son of a bitch Ethan" She whispered. She believed it, if she didn't she would be in even worse condition than she already was.

"I thought stuff like this would be over once Mesagog was gone, I didn't think we had to worry about losing someone anymore" Ethan added in a quieter voice.

* * *

The next few days were a blur to all of them. Cops were in and out questioning. Everyone lost their temper or fell apart at one point or another. What really broke everyone out of the general grieving and anger was the arrival of a note. It wasn't sent in the mail, there was a knock on the door, and Tommy found it taped to the door. He couldn't speak as he read it.

Tommy Oliver, Conner McKnight, Ethan James, Kira Ford, Trent Fernandez.

Better known as the former Dino Thunder Power Rangers.

Your friend's murder is but the beginning of your pain.

The next blows to come will come together.

There will be one for each of you personally.

Yes Oliver, more personal than your college buddy.

Evil will rise, but first, you five will pay for preventing it.

Someone knew their secret, and if Hayley was the least of their pain, who would this maniac going to go after next? He called the rangers at their respective hotels. They arrived soon, if possible even more worried than they had been when they first arrived in town. His expression did nothing to alleviate their worries. He had barely been able to speak long enough to tell them to get there as soon as possible, and come alone, so he just handed them the paper to read. Their reactions varied, but they were all horrible.

"W-who do you think they'll go after next?" Conner managed to squeak out as his mind automatically shifted to Krista. He stepped out of the room once he was composed enough to speak, and immediately dialed Krista's cell. She answered, but Conner didn't give her much time to say anything.

"Krista, listen, go to the most unlikely place you can think of, find the cops, and tell them you're in danger" She tried to interrupt him but he stopped her.

"No, don't argue, I can't explain, but you have to get somewhere safe. I'll call you sometime. But don't use your cellphone either, get a new one." He fended off a few more questions and then managed to end the calls. He couldn't even bear to think about losing Krista.

The other four former rangers were struggling to decide who this psycho would go after to hurt them. Ethan called Mia and warned her similarly to how Conner had warned Krista. Trent called his dad, and Kira called her roommates. Tommy called and tried to warn his parents as best he could, and then he called his original team of rangers. He told them to go somewhere safe and he would explain it later. All he said was that it involved ranger business, so there were no arguments. This didn't do much for any of their nerves.

"Why us? We weren't the only rangers ever, we weren't even the last team." Conner voiced what all of them were thinking. Everyone shrugged, mostly still in shock.

**The Next Day**

'"Well, I still have my ptera scream, and I'm sure that Dr. Hartford could juice up my morpher to work again, and you still have your Zeo morpher right Dr. O?" Kira said, trying her best to keep her mind off of what that note had said in general. She was set on finding a way to fight this creep.

"Yeah, but we'll need more power than that, we could make some calls to some of the old teams." Tommy replied, struggling to form a plan in his mind. Plans had generally been Hayley's department. Since the day before, everyone of them had gone into a mode of productivity. They had the dino lab up and running, and were going over their options. They had to find out who was behind this, and the sooner they did, the better.


	3. The Next Victims - Part 1

A/N: I do not claim any publicly recognizable characters, ideas, or aspects of this story. They are the property of their respective owners. I do, however claim any original characters, ideas, and aspects of this story. Thanks for all of the reviews, I appreciate the feedback. The last two chapters have been re-written, the content is changed a bit at the beginning of chapter two, so you may want to look back over it. As always, read and review, and let me know how I'm doing. This is only the first part of this chapter. I am breaking it up into two parts. The next part will be longer but I have been wanting to update this story so I took what was ready and I'm working on the rest of this chapter.

"_Tommy, does every watch break the moment you buy it, or do you just forget it's there." Hayley said in a semi-serious, semi-mocking tone. Tommy was late once again. It was the grand opening of her newest pet project, Hayley's CyberSpace. The doors would officially open in just a few short minutes, and he had just arrived. "I guess the numbers must disappear on these things until just a few minutes before I'm going to be late." He returned with a smirk, gesturing towards the watch positioned on his left wrist. Hayley just chuckled slightly and shook her head. She then headed towards the front door to let in the small crowd that had gathered. _

A small smile had appeared on Tommy's face as he slept. That is until the reminiscent dream transformed into a nightmare.

_A dark figure approached Tommy as he was getting out of his Jeep to enter the CyberSpace. In its arms was Hayley's limp and bloodied body. The figure dropped the body in front of him, disappearing before Tommy could get his hands on it. He dropped to his knees and tried in vain to bring her back to life. That was when her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Written in blood on her shirt were the words 'this is only the beginning of your pain.'_

Tommy shot up in his bed letting out a cry of pure agony. He was barely aware of the fact that his sheets were on the floor on the opposite side of the room. A thought that had crossed his mind many times in the last few days came out as a whisper from his lips.

"If she had never met me, then she would still be alive."

**San Francisco, California – June 10, 2014**

"No you don't know me…" The music died down as the last line of the song escaped Kate Ford's lips. She heard soft clapping and looked up.

"You remind me so much of your sister sometimes." The girl's mother said with a soft laugh.

"I'm not as good as Kira." Kate said, and then quickly added "Not yet anyway." This brought a smile to the mother's face.

"You plan on giving her a run for her money?" She asked.

"Maybe" Kate returned. She then got to her feet and put her guitar back in its stand.

"I think I'm going to head out for a bit." Kate stated.

"Alright, just be back in time for dinner, we're having pizza tonight." Her mother replied. Kate nodded her head and then both of them were out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Kate was in her car and on her way to her best friend's house in no time. Upon her arrival she was greeted by a hug that felt like a vise grip. "Can't. Breathe." She managed to say and Carter released her from the bear hug.

"Sorry about that." He said in a semi-apologetic tone. They talked for a bit and then loaded up in her car.

"So, where to tonight?" She asked. Carter took a break from drumming on the dashboard to the beat of the song on the radio to answer her.

"We could see what's playing, I haven't gone to see a movie in a while." Kate thought for a moment and then made a turn in the direction of the nearest movie theater.

"Nothing stupid" Kate warned. Carter pretended to pout and then went back to drumming.

Finding a parking spot was easier said than done, but Kate managed to squeeze her car into one of the few available. Both teens climbed out of the car and headed towards the doors.

"That looks interesting." Carter remarked, pointing to the sign for a newly released action flick. Kate studied the poster for a moment.

"That'll work" She finally said, and headed up to the counter. She got them each a ticket for the next showing of the movie.

"We've got about twenty minutes" Kate said once she returned to where Carter was waiting.

"Just enough time for me to lose the majority of my change in the game room" He commented. The two of them entered the slightly deserted room and headed for the air hockey table. After winning three matches in a row Kate excused herself to go find a bathroom.

After what seemed like forever, Kate finally found the ladies room. She was exiting when she heard a strange metallic clicking, almost like footsteps. Seeing as she was alone in a dark hallway, Kate thought she was just being paranoid. Right before she was about to emerge into the lobby a cold hand clamped over her mouth. She tried to fight, but the attacker's grip was too strong. For some reason her eyes were getting heavy. She was soon unconscious.

**Blue Bay Harbor, California – June 10, 2014**

"Heads up!" Dustin shouted out as yet another weapon flew out of Erik McKnight's hand. Three or four of the other students in the path of the weapon ducked out of the way.

"Sorry" Erik said in his most apologetic tone. He was more than grateful that he had been given a second chance at the academy, and he just wished he didn't keep screwing up.

"Don't worry, you'll get it. Take a break man." Dustin said in the most encouraging tone that he could muster. Erik smiled at the encouragement and headed towards the exit. A little time away from the ninja school would help him clear his head and he would be sure to do better when he got back. Not to mention he would have time to check his messages at home, and see when he would have to be in at work. He had been off the last few days, and had been crashing at the academy.

"Where the hell have you been?" He heard a familiar voice ask as he was entering the lobby of the apartment building he lived in.

"Having a good time" Erik replied with a small smirk to the doorman. He wasn't able to explain about the ninja school, so he would allow Tanner's mind to do with his explanation what he would like. Erik was now on his way up the stairs and to his apartment. It was a bit small, but functional. Sure enough, the red light on his answering machine was blinking away. He pushed the button and listened as the machine recorded voice informed him that he had three new messages.

"First message" The machine chimed.

"Hey McKnight, you need to be in at 8:00 tomorrow night. You'll be pulling an all-nighter." The voice on the message was that of his boss. Erik worked security to keep the bills paid while he trained at the academy. It was one of the few jobs that he could ask to work overnights without a lot of questions.

The other two messages were from a couple of his buddies. Nothing really important was brought up so he deleted them. He marked the time of his work schedule for the next night on a calendar on his fridge, and then he was headed out again. His plan was to hit the gym, grab a bite to eat, and then head back to the school and get some more practice time in before he had to get some rest for work the next day.

His stint at the gym earned him a bruise on the top of his foot from dropping a weight on it. Other than that little mishap, however, he did pretty well. His strength and reflexes were definitely improving. Now he was in the process of finding a booth at one of his favorite restaurants. He knew he couldn't eat a very heavy meal if he planned on training, but he had to grab something. He was starving. He ended up ordering a pasta dish and some bread sticks, which he took all of five minutes to gulp down.

Once done with his meal Erik was on his way back to train. When he had almost arrived at the hidden entrance, he could have sworn that he heard footsteps. He figured it was just some guys from the academy trying to freak him out, so he ignored the sound and kept on his way. The next thing he knew a strong hand had clamped over his mouth while a sharp kick was being delivered to the backs of his knees. He fell to the ground, he was about to get up and defend himself when his eyes began to get heavy. Within seconds he was unconscious.


End file.
